Record Crowd Expected for Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Meeting

Over 200 scientists and conservationists will converge on Chattanooga, Tennessee for the annual meeting of Southeastern Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (SE PARC).

The meeting will take place at the Tennessee Aquarium February 22-25 and is completely sold out. This will be largest meeting in the history of SE PARC or any of its counterparts in other regions. Attendees will include representatives from universities, government agencies, non-profit organizations, private industry, and the general public.
Founded nearly a decade ago, PARC is a national coalition with five regional working groups encompassing the entire United States. Dedicated to a collaborative, solution-oriented approach to conservation, PARC describes itself as “an inclusive partnership dedicated to the conservation of the herpetofauna–reptiles and amphibians–and their habitats.”  The diversity of the membership makes PARC the most comprehensive conservation effort ever undertaken for amphibians and reptiles. Reptiles (alligators, crocodiles, lizards, turtles, the tuatara, and snakes) and amphibians (frogs, toads, salamanders, and caecilians) have suffered from a broad range of human activities, due in part to the perception that these animals are either dangerous or of little environmental or economic value. Conservationists know now that they are important parts of our natural and cultural heritage.
At this year’s meeting, SE PARC members will hear talks from nationally-renowned senior herpetologists such as Whit Gibbons and Paul Moler, as well as young college researchers presenting their ideas for the first time. The talks will focus primarily on three issues: non-native invasive species such as fire ants, new trends in eco-friendly road construction and real estate development, and federally-funded State Wildlife Action Plans. Attendees with then be asked to begin developing the next generation of tools and products related to these issues. Finally, the group will begin identifying issues for future meetings. Among the topics under consideration for 2008 are forest management, the value of prescribed fire, aquatic habitat quality, and emerging diseases afflicting herpetofauna.
To learn more about PARC nationwide, visit www.parcplace.org. For information about the Southeastern working group in particular, visit www.separc.org.